From: Rawn Fulton, Executive Director

Sopris Foundation, Searchlight Films, and Population Communications International announce the Eigth Annual World Population Film/Video Festival for secondary and college students. We want students to explore the connection between population growth, resource consumption, the environment, and our common global future. Where are we headed and what can we do about it?

The World Population Film + Video Festival is an international competition for college and secondary students whose mission is to promote critical thought and self-expression concerning the most critical challenges facing humanity today - the explosion of human population, the wasteful consumption of Earth's natural resources, the protection of its environment, and the creation of a sustainable future - for both the human race and the biosphere.

Now in its eigth year, the program has been created by WPFVF's Executive Director, environmental filmmaker Rawn Fulton of Searchlight Films, in cooperation with the Festival's co-sponsors, Sopris Foundation, Aspen, CO, and Population Communications International, New York, NY (a United Nations affiliate). "The aim of this Festival," states Fulton, "is to stimulate students to think about where the human race and planet Earth are headed and about what we can and must do now to help create a vision of a truly sustainable world."

Film and video are ideal media for this purpose because they - like our thematic topics - require interdisciplinary thought and action. Looking at these related issues from both a personal and global perspective can bring together many academic disciplines such as world history, geography, current events, ecology/environmental studies, politics, economics, sciences, religion, statistics, anthropology, journalism, technology, art, etc... - merged by vision, and creativity into a personal film or video statement limited only by the student's imagination.

Students are Free to Use Any Cinematic Form--drama, animation, image-montage, documentary, etc... and their pieces can be any length. Upon request, we will provide schools with information resource guides. "Best of Festival " tapes are available for 1995 though 2001 as well as a shorter composite tape highlighting the Best of '95-'97. All tapes are available for a donation of $25 for the first tape, with each additional tape costing $10. (Overseas buyers please add an additional $8 per tape for shipping and handling.)

Entries to be postmarked by June 15, 2003.

Winners will be announced by October 15, 2003.

A total of $10,000 in prizes awarded to winning entries.

Please alert your students to the festival so they are aware of this unique opportunity.

For further information, and to let us know which schools are participating, please contact WPFVF.